Guide tube magazine for carrying and launching airplane rocket-bombs



Sept. 19, 1967 R. A. ROBERT GUIDE TUBE MAGAZINE FOR CARRYING ANDLAUNCHIN AIRPLANE ROCKET-BOMBS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 17, 1964 vslSept. 19, 1967 R. A. ROBERT 3,342,104

GUIDE TUBE MAGAZINE FOR CARRYING AND LAUNCHING AIRPLANE ROCKET-BOMBSFiled Nov. 17, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,342,104GUIDE TUBE MAGAZINE FOR CARRYING AND LAUNCHING AIRPLANE ROCKET-HOMESRoger Ann Robert, 33 Blvd. dAngleterre, Le Vesinet, France Filed Nov.17, 1964, Ser. No. 411,817 Claims priority, application France, Oct. 22,1964, 992,316, Patent 1,441,434 4 Claims. (Cl. 891.817)

The present invention relates to rocket-bomb carrying airplanes and,more particularly, to an arrangement of a guide-tube magazine forcarrying and launching airplane rocket-bombs.

Fitting a high-speed airplane for carrying rocket-bombs raises manydelicate and even unexpected problems.

Rocket-bombs are generally contained in tubes adapted to ensure theguidance thereof along the first portion of their trajectory, such tubesbeing assembled in a bunch or array located in a magazine arranged inthe plane. It has been however established, for 'a long time, that in atube-containing magazine of a fast-flying airplane, streamlined at thefront where the guide tubes emerge, excessive heating is produced,during the high speeds of the plane, at the front end of therocket-bomb, with the risk of a premature bursting of certain of therocket-bombs.

In order to obviate such a drawback, it was proposed to seal, by meansof plugs, the front end of the guide tubes, so as to avoid the admissionof the air at a high speed into said tubes during the flight of theairplane, a plug being thereafter ejected by the rocket itself whenlaunched.

While some satisfactory devices have been constructed and utilized, theopinion prevails among technicians that, at least for certain forms ofplugs, the possibility is not entirely excluded that, under certainparticular circumstances, a plug might offer an excessive resistance toits being ejected, resulting in possible serious damage, and also thatduring the arming procedure of a rocket-launching apparatus, theoperator in charge is liable to forget to seal one of the tubes of theapparatus, which would cause the corresponding rocket to be subjected tothe action of the air penetrating at a great speed.

The invention is intended to avoid, in a highly reliable manner, thebursting of a rocket-bomb contained in a guide-tube, without sealing theopening of the latter, but be only restricting the same peripherally bymeans of an annular diaphragm, transverse to the axis of the tube.

Experience has shown that, surprisingly, while there still exists a freepneumatic communication between the inside of the tube and the outsidespace, the temperature of the front end of the rocket-bomb remains at asubstantially lower value than that which was previously found in tubesnot provided with such a restriction.

The following analysis of this phenomenon, which does not appear to havebeen formulated up to the present, but of which no advantage was taken,provides an explanation of this fact.

When a guide-tube of a rocket-bomb emerges at the slanted surface of thestream-lined profile, there is produced in the tube, in front of therocket head, a vortex motion of the air due to a dissymmetry in thedistribution of the pressures at the outlet of the tube, such asdissymmetry occurring always when the axis of the tube forms anangle-dilferent from zero-with the direction of the air stream. Such aphenomenon is similar to that occurring in the so-called vortex-tube,wherein the vortex is produced by a jet perpendicular to the axis of thetube.

Now, many research Works and tests have shown that in such a vortexmotion, a thermal separation will take place between a peripheral fluxof a high temperature and a central flux of a low temperature.

3,342,104 Patented Sept. 19, 1967 'ice By placing, according to theinvention, a peripheral annular diaphragm in front of each rocket-bomb,the hot air of the peripheral flux is unable to come in contact with therocket-bomb; only comparatively cool air from the center is able topass.

This explanation is confirmed by the fact that, in a magazine with nostream-lined profile, with the tubes thereof opening therefore onto afront face perpendicular to their axes, the temperature elevation of thefront ends of the rocket-bombs is found to be much lower.

The annular diaphragm provided inside the tube is such that it does notoffer any substantial resistance to the passage of the rocket-bomb atthe instant 'of its launching.

According to the invention, the restriction peripheral rings or annulardiaphragms are of a single piece which is adapted as a whole to thevarious guide-tubes of a magazine, so that the fitting of this singlepiece is sulficient to assure the improvement for all the guide tubesforming part of said magazine.

According to an embodiment, the central opening formed by the peripheraldiaphragm is shaped as a polygon, thus facilitating at the passage ofthe rocket, the deformation of the diaphragm and reduces its resistancethereto.

The invention will be best understood from the following description andappended drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a general perspective view of an improved rocket-bombmagazine according to the invention, the various pieces of which arespaced apart for a better understanding of the drawing.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of part of a guide-tubefor a rocket-bomb, comprising the restriction means according to theinvention, in the position before the launching of the rocket-bomb.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 2 at the instant of passageof the front portion of the launched rocket-bomb.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to those in FIGURES 2 and 3, but after thepassage of the rocket-bomb.

FIGURE 5 is a front view of the piece constituting the diaphragms of thevarious tubes.

The magazine 20 comprises a cylindrical body 21 containing a nest ofguide tubes 22 for rocket-bombs 23. The body 21 is extended, at thefront portion thereof, by a stream-lined nose portion or cowl 24 of aconical, cylindroconical or ogival shape, tipped as at 25. The tubes 22emerge at the front wall 26 of body 21 along circular openings 27 thediameter of which is the same as that of the inner surface 28 of saidtubes 22. The nose 24 comprises channels 29 extending in correspondingrelationship with the tubes 22, the outlets of said channels at theexternal surface 30 of nose 24 being constituted by more or lesselliptical elongated curves 31.

In the illustrated embodiment described, there is inserted between body21 and nose 24 a partition 32 presenting holes 33 of the same number andthe same arrangement as openings 27, but of a smaller diameter than thelatter. When partition 32 is in position, there exists, in front of eachone of the openings 27 of tube 22, a peripheral ring or annulus member34 formed with a central opening 35 of a smaller diameter than opening27; the insertion of said annular ring or diaphragm 34 between space 36located in front of tube 22 and space 37 inside the latter, has provedof utmost importance for the nonheating of space 37 or, at least, for asubstantially lesser degree of heating as compared to the case wherethere is a non-restricted communication between space 37 and channels29. Said ring or diaphragm 34 is of such material and/or of such shapethat it offers little resistance to the passage of the rocket-bomb 23.In the illustrated embodiment, each diaphragm 34 has a slightly curvedcontour, with a portion 38, linked with the flat portion 39 of thepartition, forming a smaler angle with the axis of the tube than themain internal portion 40 of said diaphragm.

FIGURE 3 illustrates the deforming of diaphragm 34 under the action oftip 41 of the rocket-bomb 23, and FIGURE 4 shows the condition of saiddiaphragm after the passage of the rocket-bomb, the various partsthereof being applied against wall 42 limiting channel 29.

Partition 32 is simply made of a sheet of thin metal having a lowmechanical resistance. Satisfactory results have been obtained, in theuse of a magazine the guide tubes of which had an internal diameter of70* mm., with diaphragms providing a central opening of a diameter ofabout 30 mm.

The invention provides for each diaphragm a central opening of apolygonal contour, for instance hexagonal or octagonal, facilitating inthis way the breaking of the closure upon passage of the rocket-bomb. InFIGURE 5, there is shown a thin sheet piece 40, in the shape of a disk,wherein eighteen annular diaphragms 34 have been stamped out for theprotection of eighteen tubes of a rocket-bomb magazine, the inner edge41 of each one of said diaphragm been cut out in the form of an octagon.Peripheral slots such as 42 and a central opening 43 assure thepositioning of piece 49 and cooperate with the same being securedbetween body 21 and nose 24.

Whereas at the high subsonic speeds .8 M 1), the rocket-bombs of certainmagazines get overheated and may reach temperatures up to 200 C., i.e. amultiple of the temperature at rest, the temperatures found onrocket-bombs contained in the improved magazine according to theinvention did not exceed 50 to 60 C.

I claim:

1. In a guide-tube magazine for carrying and launching airplanerocket-bombs, comprising a magazine body, a tapered nose portion mountedon the forward end of said magazine body, a plurality of guide tubesmounted in said magazine body, said tapered nose portion having channelswith outlets on the external surface of the tapered nose, said channelsbeing longitudinal aligned with each of said guide tubes, a transversalpartition inserted between said body and said nose portion and formedwith a plurality of openings coaxial, respectively, withsaid tubes andof a diameter smaller than the inner diameter thereof.

2. A magazine according to claim 1, wherein said transversal partitioncomprises means for its angular positioning relative to said body and tosaid nose portion.

3. In a guide-tube magazine for carrying and launching airplanerocket-bombs, comprising a magazine body, a tapered nose portion mountedon the forward end of said magazine body, a plurality of guide tubesmounted in said magazine body, said tapered nose portion having channelswith outlets on the external surface of the tapered nose, said channelsbeing longitudinally aligned with each of said guide tubes, an annularwall in each tube secured to the latter along its outer edge,saidannular Wall being positioned in the tube forwardly of therocket-bomb located therein and spaced from the forward end of therocket-bomb, said wall having a central opening smaller in diameter thanthat of the tube, and being operative to restrict heating of therocket-bomb due to penetration of air at high speed within the channelsof the tapered nose portion, said annular wall being deformable uponpassage therethrough of the corresponding rocket-bomb in the tube.

4. In a magazine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said annular wall has adomed shape with its convex side facing forwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 245,363 8/1881 Ericsson 89313,137,231 6/ 196 4- I ohnson 102-34.4 3,199,40'6 8/1965 Gould 89--1.7

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,196,091 5/1959 France.

972,555 10 /1964 Great Britain.

SAMUEL W. ENGLE, Primary Examiner.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Examiner.

3. IN A GUIDE-TUBE MAGAZINE FOR CARRYING AND LAUNCHING AIRPLANEROCKET-BOMBS, COMPRISING A MAGAZINE BODY, A TAPERED NOSE PORTION MOUNTEDON THE FORWARD END OF SAID MAGAZINE BODY, A PLURALITY OF GUIDE TUBESMOUNTED IN SAID MAGAZINE BODY, SAID TAPERED NOSE POSITION HAVINGCHANNELS WITH OUTLETS ON THE EXTERNAL SURFACE OF THE TAPERED NOSE, SAIDCHANNELS BEING LONGITUDINALLY ALIGNED WITH EACH OF SAID GUIDE TUBES, ANANNULAR WALL IN EACH TUBE SECURED TO THE LATTER ALONG ITS OUTER EDGE,SAID ANNULAR WALL BEING POSITIONED IN THE TUBE FORWARDLY OF THEROCKET-BOMB LOCATED THEREIN AND SPACED FROM THE FORWARD END OF THEROCKET-BOMB, SAID WALL HAVING A CENTRAL OPENING SMALLER IN DIAMETER THANTHAT OF THE TUBE, AND BEING OPERATIVE TO RESTRICT HETING OF THEROCKET-BOMB DUE TO PENETRATION OF AIR AT HIGH SPEED WITHIN THE CHANNELSOF THE TAPERED NOSE PORTION, SAID ANNULAR WALL BEING DEFORMABLE UPONPASSAGE THERETHROUGH OF THE CORRESPONDING ROCKET-BOMB IN THE TUBE.